Description

Shape Up or Slip Out! is the fifth game in Al Lowe'sLeisure Suit Larry series. All the events from the previous games are forgotten. Larry is once again single, and again his goal is to capture the interest of various ladies. By sheer coincidence, Larry finds himself on a TV Game Show called "Stallions". He wins a weekend at the Spa Resort, La Costa Lotta. Naturally, there are some beautiful women in the spa who are just dreaming about such a wonderful, handsome man as Larry! Uh... or is it really so? It is the player's goal to find out!

This instalment focuses more on conversations with women and puzzles than on the storyline. The entire game is spent at La Costa Lotta. There are plenty of traditional inventory-based puzzles to solve in the game. Larry can die, but the player is allowed to try again every time that happens, without the need to restore a saved game. This is also the first Larry game with SVGA graphics, and voice-overs in the CD version.

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Trivia

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According to Al Lowe’s design document for Shape Up or Slip Out, Larry was originally supposed to date a tenth woman, Frau Milchlieb - an “excessively rich, over-weight, over-sexed, middle-aged, married, Germanic tourist covered with way too much gold and diamonds” who's at La Costa Lotta “to loose veight, dah-link!” She was supposed to sit in the Dining Room, giving purpose to this otherwise almost meaningless location. The design document describes Larry’s interaction with her thus:

Even though she enjoys male companionship, right now more than anything, Frau Milchlieb wants food. Once she gives you the clue as to what she desires, the dessert car appears in the employee’s campground and she waits in her room. She admits you, thanks you, gives you nothing, but sits down at the at the cart and begins to gorge. As she eats, we see and hear her various undergarments stretch, strain, fray, and burst! We watch fabric, buttons, straps, everything fly off, and her fat slowly morphs its way to the floor, bulging her legs and feet until the toe ring she wears shoots across the room at Larry, who sticks up his arm and makes a Willy Mays grandstanding catch.

Since Frau Milchlieb doesn’t quite fit the game’s cast of extremely attractive women, it’s probably no wonder she was cut out. Even so, a relic of her story remains in the game: The room service tray that Larry picks the mineral water up from stands in front of Frau Milchlieb’s room, and was slated to appear after her orgy. That would indeed have made more sense than its appearing out of the blue now.

Deaths

Here's a few things that will get you killed:

Go to the kitchen and suck sir from the tire of the roach coach.

Before pointing the video camera into the ladies shower, enter the security booth and try to take the handcuffs from Daryl's belt.

Go to the mudbaths, and jump in the mud pool still wearing your leisure suit.

Go to the health spa and use the zipper on Gary.

Enter the sauna still wearing your leisure suit.

Jump in the swimming pool still wearing your leisure suit.

In the bar, open the green door at the back of the room.

Turn on Dr. Swinebutt's cellulite drainage machine before you fix it.

When you get Cavarrichi's ID badge, click on her shirt twice with the hand icon.

Development

Shape Up or Slip Out has a sprinkle of internationality in its cast, with Rosé being Spanish and Cavaricchi French. Originally this multicultural touch was supposed to be much stronger, according to Al Lowe’s design document: It describes a tenth, German woman (see separate trivia item), has the gate guard (“Bang N. Olufsen”) come from Sweden and the tram driver (“Curtis”) from Hawaii.

At least in the latter case, we know how the change happened: The artists drew the tram driver as a likeness of Al Lowe himself, who then changed the driver’s name to “Art” in allusion to a friend of his who looks like him, and to spite the art department.

Gags

If you try to take Cavaricchy's top enough times, (keep clicking with the hand icon on it) she'll eventually remove it and show you her breasts. Unfortunately, her following lines are: "Now that you have seen them you must die."

After Cav leaves the aerobics room, click on her record collection and select one of the songs from the Leisure Suit Larry 6 soundtrack.

Use your zipper on the fountain to be awarded a point.

Click the hand icon on various objects in the lobby to advance further into the game.

Use the toilet seat cover and leave without wiping. Several characters will now have something new to say to you.

In the lavatory, use the toilet seat cover, the brochure and the hand cream in this order for a big surprise.

Click your room key on several characters in the game.

Music

Shape Up or Slip Out features a song called Cell Block Love, in line with several of Sierra’s early-90s adventure games (cf. King’s Quest VI’s Girl in the Tower, The Dagger of Amon Ra’s Archaeologist Song, Freddy Pharkas’Ballad of Freddy Pharkas). While the original DOS version only displays the lyrics along with the MIDI track, the CD release has full instruments and vocals.

The song, performed in the game by the country singer Burgundy in La Costa Lotta’s Blues Bar, is a tongue-in-cheek homage to the first Police Quest game, another Sierra series. In the lyrics, the former prostitute Marie Wilkans tells about her meeting and falling in love with Sonny, Police Quest’s protagonist. The full lyrics:

VerseThe boys could find my number written by the telephone,
The sort of girl a Lytton man could take, then leave alone.
In high school I was voted Miss Congeniality,
But then I asked myself, "Why am I doin' it fer free?"

I knew when you grew up next door, you had a crush on me.
You'd been the high school quarterback, then joined the L. P. D.
That night you caught me hookin' and you hauled me off to jail,
You wrapped your arms around me and you held me without bail!

ChorusThe lifeline that you threw me were the handcuffs that you used.
You left my heart locked up, and my wrists a little bruised.
You brought me down for questioning, I had to say, "I do!"
Your kisses sentenced me to life in Cell Block Love with you.

VerseI sit alone and cry when you refuse to wear your vest.
I never know if you'll come home or take one in the chest.
I sit and stare when you won't wear your firearm like you should.
I know someday they'll find you, dear, flatlinin' in the 'hood!

I pray you're just unfaithful when you don't come home 'til two.
Perhaps I oughtta go back out and hit the streets like you.
We sure could use the extra cash, for bills we've plenty of,
And you could run me in, like on the night we fell in love!

ChorusI waive my right to silence, here's the statement that I'll sign:
I do confess to lovin' you and wantin' you fer mine!
Is it so wrong, a workin' girl who loves a man in blue?
I hope I never make parole from Cell Block Love with you.

Title

The game's title is a play on words based on the navy saying Shape up or ship out.

Version differences

There are actually three versions of this game: the Windows version, which runs in 640x480 256 colours; the regular DOS lo-res version, which runs in 320x200; and a DOS hi-res version, exactly like the Windows version, but running on DOS. The 1994 CD version was released with full speech.

Women

Eight of the nine women in Leisure Suit Larry 6 are named after wines: